Michael Jackson will be remembered for many different things. But should he be remembered as an eco warrior?

Jacko’s biggest selling single in the UK was not Thriller, or Beat It, but Earth Song, an epic tribute to environmental imbalances across the globe.

You might remember the video. It was a lavish affair.

Shot on four continents, it featured everything from seal clubbing to forest fires, civil war to elephants killed for ivory, a lush rainforest, a scorched post-apocalyptic earth… and a whole load of “ahhhhhs and “ooooohs."

It was probably one of the most expensive (and carbon intensive) music videos ever made.

Jacko drew scorn with his grandiose performance of the song at the Brits, posing centre-stage, Christ-like (prompting Jarvis Cocker to storm the set and simulate farts on live TV).

But for a moment, forget that faux pas. Jacko was one of the most wealthy and powerful celebs of our time. He could’ve sung about whatever he liked.

Earth Song topped the UK chart for six weeks, including a Christmas number one, and sold millions of copies across Europe.

Whatever the footprint of MJ’s mansions and world tours, his music, like it or not, regularly pointed to issues of social injustice and the need for change.